A nonwoven fabric made of composite type heat-bondable fiber has been known, disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No.61-10583. This nonwoven fabric is obtained by heat-treating a mixture of fibers containing not leas than 25 weight percent of a heat-bondable composite fiber which comprises a first component consisting of 50-100 weight percent of linear low density polyethylene and 50-0 weight percent of polyethylene different therefrom, and a second component in the form of a fiber-forming polymer (polypropylene, polyester, polyamide or the like) exhibiting a melting point which is more than 30t: higher than that of these polyethylenes, the heat-treatment being performed at a temperature above the melting point of said first component but below the melting point of said second component.
The desire of the industry for a nonwoven fabric having a high strength and a soft hand is very high; the composite type heat-bondable fiber disclosed in said Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-10583 is capable of offering a nonwoven fabric having a soft hand. However, it has the drawback that it is lacking in the adhesion to fibers of other materials than polyethylene, in which case it is necessary to increase the amount of heat-bondable fiber, hardly providing a nonwoven fabric which is soft in terms of hand.